Shivering and Sighing
by ruflylover
Summary: Takes place after the finale of SEASON 1. Kristin and Ted are on the rocks, Alec is arrested for murder, Rebecca and Sutton a plotting something...but what? This story is my take on what happens after the last episode of the season. Can the Mercers piece it together after their lives have been torn apart?
1. Chapter 1

**This takes place after the ending of SEASON 1. I haven't even started SEASON 2 on Netflix, but this is just my take on how things should progress. I'm all about a happy ending, but obviously it takes some time to find ones way out a mess as big as the Season 1 cliffhanger.**

**Review and Enjoy!**

**Xx Kate**

**I cannot take credit for any of the characters in The Lying Game.**

"KRISTIN!" Ted slurred hopelessly, banging on his front door with about as much success as his yelling was getting him. However, time was no concept to him. He had spent the good part of the night downing his sorrows at the club.

After about twenty minutes of constant commotion, Kristin finally threw on her silk robe and tiptoed regretfully to the door. "Ted," she whispered, opening the door just a crack, "Go away, it's two o'clock in the morning, and…" she paused observing his drunken state, "you're drunk."

"Kristin, please, I came all this way…" he began.

"You drove?!" Kristin exclaimed, catching a view of his car parked haphazardly on the curb. "Jesus Ted, you could have killed yourself. Let me call you a cab," she muttered shutting the door in his face.

She returned a minute later, "When the car comes for you, you need to leave and not come back for a while… I need some time, don't you understand?"

"Noooo Kristin," Ted stumbled, leaning on the doorway, "You need to listen to me."

"I think I've heard quite enough, honestly…"

"No, I need to tell you the truth, the whole honest to god truth!" He lunged at her, grabbing forcefully onto her arms.

"Ted! Stop!" Kristin exclaimed frightfully.

Ted backed off, instantly regretting the harsh contact he had made. He looked down at his feet and shoved his hands deep into his pockets, "I-I made a mistake. It was never meant to be like this. I thought I was doing the right thing…"

"Cheating on me or lying about it for all these years? Which one of those things seemed like the _right_ thing?" Kristin scoffed, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. She was trying to hold it together.

Ted sighed, his brain was not allowing him to form the right words, "I'm done taking advice from Alec, and I'm done with the lies! You deserve the truth!"

"Don't try to pin this on someone else, Ted…"

"No I'm not, Kristin you don't understand. I _KNOW_ this is all my fault!" He shuttered, tears began to seep from the corners of his dry and tired eyes.

Kristin bit her lip, but remained silent.

"And what I'm about to say now…it will break your heart. I know that you will never speak with me again! But I'm still here, I am here on your doorstep," he slurred.

Kristin shut her eyes tight, preparing for the worst. _Had he never loved her at all? Had he thought non-stop of Rebecca all these years? Did he picture her when they were making love? WHAT?_

"Sutton is my daughter," he began.

"Yes, she's my daughter too…"

"No, Kristin. I mean she is _my_ daughter, mine and Rebecca's," he trailed off.

Kristin took in a punitive breath, her heart dropping into her stomach. She couldn't imagine a bigger betrayal. "Ted…how could you?"

Ted collapsed slowly to the ground, not being able to hold his weight up any longer.

"Let me get this straight," Kristin started, her anger building and tears freely flowing down her red cheeks, "I have been raising my husband's and his lover's daughter for the past seventeen years and you never thought to tell me?" Her voice was hardly a whisper.

Ted nodded into his hands.

"Excuse me," she murmured, covering her hands over her mouth.

Ted called out for her, but it was too late, the door was already shut in his face and he was alone, crumpled and lost on the front step.

xxx

Kristin hardly made it to the bathroom before she dumped the minimal contents of her stomach into the toilet. _How could I have been so stupid?_

_xxx_

_Wash, condition, rinse, repeat_ Emma chanted in her mind as she ran her hands through her wet hair while she showered. It was the only thing she could allow her mind to think of, otherwise it would drift off into the insanity that had become her life. _Kristin and Ted and Sutton and Rebecca and Ethan and Alec and…Thayer._ So much had happened in the last couple of days. The hardest part, though, was knowing that the people she cared about most in this whole situation didn't even know she existed. To them, she was Sutton Mercer, sister and daughter. She longed to have Kristin wrap her arms around her and tell her it was going to be all right…but not as Sutton…as herself, and herself only: As Emma Becker.

After her shower, Emma made her way into the kitchen where she found Kristin mindlessly whisking some pancake batter, burnt ones already piled up on a plate beside the stove.

"Mom, what are you doing? No one expects you to make breakfast," Emma said, taking the spoon gently from Kristen's shaking hand.

Kristin flinched slightly at the touch of her daughter. How was she going to tell Sutton? _Was_ she going to tell Sutton?

"You should go back to bed, mom. I'll clean up here."

Kristin attempted a smile, "Thank you sweetie," she choked on the last word. She loved Sutton with her heart and soul, just as much as her biological daughter Laurel, but she couldn't help but look at her just a little differently.

_I'm alone._ She thought. _I was always alone. Laurel and Sutton are both TED'S daughters. I'm the outcast. The biggest betrayal…_

Kristin began to walk away, barely able to pick up her feet.

"Mom, wait," Emma called, grabbing her mom by the shoulder. Kristin flinched again, this time more noticeable.

Emma recoiled, "Do you need anything," she asked, stumbling over her words.

"No, Sutton, I don't." _There is that obviously fake smile again_, Emma thought. _Poor Kristin._

"Come here," Sutton whispered, enveloping her arms around Kristin's small, weak frame. She could feel her mother breaking. _No, she is not your mother, Emma!_ She chided herself.

"Oh, Sutton, I'm so so sorry," Kristin sobbed, breaking down in her daughter's arms. "I should have seen this…I mean, somewhere along the line I should have seen this!"

"No, no mom, you couldn't have possibly known. This isn't your fault. And don't worry; your daughters are here to back you up. We're not going to leave your side, I promise. We are here, right here," she soothed. _We are all here…Laurel, Sutton, and I._

Kristin willed herself to think straight: here was her daughter, offering her full support and love and all she could think was…_She's Rebecca's, not mine. She's not my daughter._


	2. Chapter 2

**And so it continues. For the next few chapters it will be Ted and Kristin focused. However, after an introduction of a new character, it will be more towards Emma and Sutton. **

**Enjoy!**

**Xx Kate**

Kristin twirled and twisted her wedding band around her finger over and over again. It sparkled in the sunlight that was beaming in from the window. She debated taking it off. Ted had already called seven times this morning. Most likely he had woken up in his suite above the club with a huge hangover and a couple huge regrets. Kristin shook her head and collapsed onto her bed. Everything was such a mess.

Xxx

Ted popped three more Advil and covered his eyes with his hands. "Ughh," he moaned in pain. Last night was a blur but he recalled vividly confessing his lies to his wife. He didn't regret what he had said to her, but he did regret doing it in the first place. His finger hovered over the call button. This would be the eighth time he had tried to call her. He debated heading over to the house, but he decided otherwise. That might be a bad decision considering she wasn't even answering his phone calls. She would definitely not answer the door for his sorry ass. Maybe he should take her advice…giver her some space. But he was going crazy in here! There had to be somewhere he could go to get away…somewhere private…but where? His mind clicked into place. THE CABIN.

Xxx

"Sutton, I get it," Emma pleaded, "Ethan has been a sore subject lately. But listen, I don't want him to get in the way of us being sisters. Ever since I found out about you all I have wanted is a relationship: a _good_ relationship."

"Emma…" Sutton began.

"No listen, what happened with you and Ethan at the ranch _did_ hurt my feelings, I love—_loved_ Ethan, but I get why you did it, I can see how this looks: me taking your place and all."  
Sutton rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Emma you make it so hard to be mean," she sighed.

Emma smiled slightly.

"I get it too, Emma. I know you never had a family or someone like Ethan to share your life with…" she mumbled regretfully. This was difficult for her.

Emma nodded, "Let's just lay it all out on the table…what do we want? What do we want our lives to be like once we figure all of this out? I think it would be a good place to start, ya know?"

"Yeah, yeah, I totally agree. Well, I know what you want…Kristin and Ted as parents, Laurel and I as your sisters? Am I right?" she smiled and pushed Emma's arm playfully.

"Well, isn't that what you want too? I mean, I know we want to find out about our birth mom…but when we do, what then?"

Sutton cleared her throat; "Actually there is something I need to tell you about that…"

Suddenly the door handle rattled and Sutton and Emma both exchanged glances. It was too late; Ted had already opened the door and was now gaping at the scene before him.

"What the hell!" he yelled. Ted rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. Maybe he was still drunk. Here he was staring at Sutton and…_another_ Sutton?

"DAD?" Sutton exclaimed.

"Sutton?" He pointed at both of the girls.

"We can explain," the twins said in unison.

"What in the world is there to explain? There are two of you, how did I not know?"

"Well," Emma began, "maybe the adoption was screwed up somehow…"

"No…no, that's not it, Emma. I was about to tell you…_TED_ is our biological father!" Sutton stated dramatically.

"What? No, Ted is that true?"

"I can't even process this right now…so, you're name is _Emma?_ I have another daughter? How could this have happened? How did I not know?" Ted rambled frantically, ignoring Emma's question completely.

"TED! Answer me! Are you our father?" Emma cried, tears steaming down her face.

Ted whipped his head around to face Emma, "Yes, yes I am your father! Yours and Suttons!"

Xxx

A few hours later after Ted and the girls had talked, Ted left the cabin in a furious state. How could Alec have done this to him? His _BEST _friend! He raced down the back roads until he pulled recklessly into the club parking lot. He caught a glimpse of Alec's car leaving the parking lot, so he quickly made a U-turn and followed his car. After tail gating him for several miles he finally caught him in a straight stretch of highway. This was his chance. He sped up and paralleled him in the opposite lane. There was no on-coming traffic. Alec whipped his head and glared at Ted through his side window.

But Ted was furious. Safety and sanity were the last things on his mind. Alec didn't seem like he was going to pull over so Ted did something hasty. He pulled slightly ahead of him and swiftly turned in front of him, forcing him off the road. Both cars skidded to a stop at a strip of land off the highway.

Alec immediately got out of his car, slamming his door angrily behind him, "What the _hell_, Ted!" He yelled, pushing Ted up against his car, "You could have killed us!"

But Ted had adrenalin on his side, "I'm gonna kill you," he gritted his teeth and socked Alec in his right eye, hard.

"FUCK!" Alec yelped, falling to the ground, "What is _wrong_ with you, man?"

"You gave Emma _away,_" Ted, screamed, "How could you do this to me?"

Finally it made sense to Alec, "It was for your best interest," he said calmly.

"And how is that exactly Alec? You did this to hurt me, Alec!"

Alec glared at him, "So what if I did, Ted? How could I let you get away with the perfect life? How would that be fair to me? You get Kristin, the perfect wife. You get Rebecca's children, and get away scotch free?"

Ted growled angrily and advanced Alec, getting ready to hit him again. He lunged but Alec dodged him, which caused Ted to lose his balance and stumble toward the street.

"This is the end for you, Ted, but don't worry, I'll take care of Kristin and the girls," he spat, and pushed Ted hard.

The last thing Ted saw was the bright light of car headlights coming toward him at full speed. Then all went black.


End file.
